My mom receives food stamps/ SNAP benefits for me, my brother, and her. It's only about $350 a month and she has been letting me spend my $100 on whatever food I choose. I am 19 and live in Massachusetts.

Well, she had a shiitake fit yesterday. Every now and then she gets really hateful and irritable and yesterday was my lucky day. She's saying I have to leave (if I told you why she started this, you wouldn't really believe it- trust me when I say she is extremely ridiculous and I really didn't do anything). I am not budging. I have not done anything wrong.

However, food stamps came in today, and she is refusing to let me use them. She is not buying me anything with them, either. I was supposed to shop with my sister today at Trader Joe's because I was very low on food. Mom is saying I don't "live here anymore" and therefore I can't use them. What ended up happening was my sister took me shopping anyway and spent lots of her money on my groceries, when I should have been able to use food stamps.

So... is there anything I can do? I am feeling trapped. I actually offered mom some of the fruit I got today and she said in a hateful voice, "I don't want anything from you. Don't talk to me." I feel like I have no control over what's happening. Legally, is there anything?

You know your mom. How long, typically, until something like this blows over? If it's quick, then it will probably be resolved before you could do anything legally anyway. If not, then is there anything you can do to change your living situation? Because if this type of thing happens regularly and lasts a long time, it seems like food stamps are not the biggest problem.

I don't really have any advice but I know it is hard living in such a difficult household. My mother threatened to kick me out of the house so many times for no good reason when I was a teen (usually because I had arrived home 5 mins late from school). A relative took me in for a while until I found my feet and was earning money to go it alone. Would that be an option for you?

That is a bummer, but I don't think there's anything you can do unfortunately since you're living there. Maybe you could talk to someone at an snap office, but I dunno. Do you think she'll get over it by next month?

_________________I am not a troll. I am TELLING YOU THE ******GOD'S TRUTH****** AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT THE HEAR IT DO YOU?

I have a friend taking me to the SNAP office on Tuesday morning. It's hard to tell if/when things will "blow over" with mom. She's got issues. I doubt she will have a change of heart by Tuesday, since she cannot even speak to me in a civil manner. If she is not using the food stamps to purchase food for me, it makes no sense for her to receive as much as she is.

I'm sorry. It sounds like you are in a really rough situation. When you go to the SNAP office, can you see if there is a social worker you can talk to? You may have options you don't even know about, but they take access to resources and someone who knows what is out there.

I'll definitely look into it. I'm just really pissed off that this is the route mom is going. Those food stamps belong to the whole family. They aren't here to be withheld by someone with a bad attitude.

It is. However, she seems to think she can do what she wants. I just confronted her about it, saying it wasn't right of her to do what she's doing. Her response? "You're not starving. I didn't tell you to mooch off your sister."

To the SNAP office I go (on Tuesday). She obviously does not want to be an adult about this. I don't know if there's anything I can do but I'm not letting her bully me.

Awe, GCZ, I don't have any good advice, but I'm really sorry you are putting up with this. I think it's great that you are going to the snap office to see what can be done, and that you won't let her bully you. Good luck!

Thanks, guys! There is some hope- she is speaking to me today. I haven't really talked about food stamps with her but I wondered to a friend who was here whether I might be able to remove myself (or if mom can remove me) and apply for my own. It would actually be to the family's benefit (if it worked out)- as a family of three we get $350 in food stamps, but if I were to get my own, I'd get at least $200. It doesn't quite add up!

I wouldn't count on getting over $200 as an individual, but you can probably apply for your own seperately if you tell the case worker your mom is denying yours to you. Unless it varies by state, you should probably expect to get $115

I hope that today went good for you. I would definitely go to a citizens advice centre and ask for accommodation options. It isn't healthy to be living in a situation like that and I know how hard it is to even find the strength to leave that kind of situation too. Leaving or doing something about leaving can actually be a scarier prospect than staying.

If you ever want to chat just send me a message. I think we are buddies on facebook xxx